The Last Empress: The Life and Times of Alexandra Feodorovna, Tsarina of Russia

by Greg King

Release Date: October, 2001

Edition: Hardcover

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Basically, the Best

This book is better than Erickson's in many ways. I did wish
King could have told us more about Alix's childhood and family.
Read Mager's bio of Grand Duchess Elizabeth for a better narrative on this point. Some of King's phrasing is awkward (he
repeats the word "pair" too often when referring to 2 people.
Overall, this is a pretty good book, as long as you consult
other books to flesh it out.

Still not the definitive work

This book is a good retelling of the facts, with some new theories added (King's ideas about the influence of the Empress's childhood, for one) and some academic theses give the popular treatment for the first time. On the latter score, this biography, for example, is the first Romanov book which does not repeat the old stereotype that Rasputin was exploiting the trust of the Imperial family for political ends, but rather adopts the more credible line that he simply agreed with their own views. The political context is presented a little superficially, with no attention being given to the Empress's real reasons for selecting particular ministers, and the assumption made (all too easy with hindsight) that she was pursuing an illogical and doomed course. Dominic Lieven's "Nicholas II" is a good alternative picture, locating her strategies firmly in the populist tradition of the later nineteenth century. In some ways the book does not fulfill the promise of its introduction, which hints at a totally new picture. However, it is a good read and a good introduction for newcomers, and the character it presents, if less attractive, is a more lively and interesting one than that in the celebrated 'Nicholas and Alexandra'. It redresses the balance of the latter by actually discussing the Empress's work beyond the political sphere, in particular her interest in girls' education. For a fuller picture of her political role, see Joseph Fuhrmann's footnotes to her edited correspondence with her husband.